FPAG Shoot at Camp Boggy Creek

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Hey gang! It's 1:30 AM here and I just got back about an hour ago from a shoot. Tonight our Guild (Florida Pyrotechnic Arts Guild) did a shoot for a group of very sick kids who get to attend summer camp at a gorgeous facility called "Camp Boggy Creek" in Eustis, Florida.

There were 139 kids and about 50 staff members in attendance tonight. Everything that was shot tonight was donated by Guild members and local fireworks business owners.

There were probably 50 Guild members in attendance to put the show together. We showed up around noon and we were finally done setting everything up by about 8pm. Every cake was launched using a Cobra 18E firing system and e-match on every cake.

The finale was provided by a different company (whose name escapes me at the moment!). They arrived with two flatbed trailers loaded up with 3" and 4" mortars tubes. The owner and his crew were phenomenal!! They gave me some training on the spot and let me fuse a few strings of shells with fast-fuse and e-match. Not sure how many tubes we loaded, but I believe the figure I heard was around 300. They all went up in about 30 seconds!!

It was an amazing show and the kids (and adults!) all had a great time.

I hope you all enjoy the video and hit the "like" button! Here's the link!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSVekwqUz5o

Here are some pictures of the setup:

http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1249&stc=1 http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1250&stc=1 http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1251&stc=1 http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1252&stc=1 http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1253&stc=1 http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1254&stc=1

[displayfireworks1]

http://pix.epodunk.com/locatorMaps/fl/FL_8501.gif
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Rick I am happy for you , I am also please to hear this pyro group in Florida welcomed you. You are advancing right along. I just love looking at these day time setup pictures. Thank you for posting them. I like that rope tie on those firecrackers. I see bags on some of the cakes, did it rain for the event?
That is great they give this fireworks display to those sick kids who otherwise may not be able to attend a city display. I read a little history on this camp they do great work.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

http://pix.epodunk.com/locatorMaps/fl/FL_8501.gif
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Rick I am happy for you , I am also please to hear this pyro group in Florida welcomed you. You are advancing right along. I just love looking at these day time setup pictures. Thank you for posting them. I like that rope tie on those firecrackers. I see bags on some of the cakes, did it rain for the event?
That is great they give this fireworks display to those sick kids who otherwise may not be able to attend a city display. I read a little history on this camp they do great work.

Thanks Dave. This is one phenomenal organization. No family pays a single dime to send their kid to this camp. No staff member gets paid a dime to work there. Everything is funded by charitable donations. Next year my wife and I are going to take a week of vacation to volunteer up there during the week of the shoot.

The guys who set up the "endless string of firecrackers" told me there were 35,000 firecrackers in their display. Made quite a bit of smoke which unfortunately blew right in the direction of the kids. We might need to rethink that one for next year. Not sure if you saw the video but the show opened with an animated dragon one of our guys made. The dragon walked forward and blew flames that ignited some spinning effects (I forget what he called them). I'll post some pictures. The dragon was a huge hit with the kids!!

http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1255&stc=1 http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1256&stc=1 http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1257&stc=1

As for the bags on the cakes... This time of year it rains every day!! There were some serious storm cells passing us by all afternoon, right up to show time at 9pm. Thankfully they passed us by. Just to be safe everything was wired with e-match and then placed inside a plastic bag just in case. You would think shooting through the plastic bags would leave a mess behind at the end of the show, but most of the bags burned up during the firing of the cakes.

I apologize to all who view the video because You Tube decided to mute the audio. Apparently their is a song playing that they say violates some copyright law (all 44 seconds of it!) so they muted the entire 25 min video. There is supposed to be a way to remove that section of the audio through the You Tube service, but my attempt to do so apparently failed miserably. The You Tube video manager doesn't indicate it's muted any longer, but it's still muted for whatever reason. If anyone knows how to fix this, please let me know.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Ok... Here's a new link to the video that actually has sound!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSVekwqUz5o
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSVekwqUz5o

[PYRODAN]

Boggy Creek? I thought I saw Bigfoot in the background ! lol
Awesome show!

[JmFnG]

That is great, Rick! Looks like a whole lot of work went into that show...and for a great cause, too. Disappointed I haven't been able to join, yet. My job keeps me steadily booked on the weekends.

Do you know the dates for upcoming meetings?

[Pyro Paul]

Very good Show Rick, I enjoy seeing these kind of contributions to those less fortunate in life. In these crazy times it's always good to see these kind of things going on, much better than the doom and gloom going around in facebook and on the news these days. Thanks for posting it!! :D

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Boggy Creek? I thought I saw Bigfoot in the background ! lol
Awesome show!

You did! One of our members made that at home. He's been in the guild for over 20 years. The kids loved it! Not sure if you watched the video, but the dino's head actually exploded at the third stop. Not sure the kids realized it at the time, but it was kind of cool none-the-less.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

That is great, Rick! Looks like a whole lot of work went into that show...and for a great cause, too. Disappointed I haven't been able to join, yet. My job keeps me steadily booked on the weekends.

Do you know the dates for upcoming meetings?

I know the feeling. I work third shift, so I had to take a day of vacation just to be able to get up there. Besides the 4 hour round trip drive, we toiled out in the hot sun for 8 hours putting that thing together. Listening to all those kids yelling and screaming and clapping made every second worth it! I can't wait to get back there next year and do it all over again.

I'll check and get back to you, but I *believe* the next meeting is on Sat Aug 13th. It's usually the second Sat of every month, but sometimes it changes. Your best bet would be to hop on the FPAG website and fill out the online application. Bob Gammage (or Treasurer) will get back to you and give you all the details of the upcoming meetings (they're always at a different location). But I will follow up and get you the details for the Aug meeting.

If you can make the Aug meeting it should prove to be a good one for you. The President briefed that we're going to be building some effects. He didn't specify what, but we're going to be getting our hands dirty!

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Very good Show Rick, I enjoy seeing these kind of contributions to those less fortunate in life. In these crazy times it's always good to see these kind of things going on, much better than the doom and gloom going around in facebook and on the news these days. Thanks for posting it!! :D

Thanks Paul! It was truly a pleasure to do this show for those kids and their families.

[chriskrc]

Great show the dinosaur in the beginning of it was cool.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Thank you Sir! It was a lot of fun for sure.

[vegassalute]

Hey gang! It's 1:30 AM here and I just got back about an hour ago from a shoot. Tonight our Guild (Florida Pyrotechnic Arts Guild) did a shoot for a group of very sick kids who get to attend summer camp at a gorgeous facility called "Camp Boggy Creek" in Eustis, Florida.

There were 139 kids and about 50 staff members in attendance tonight. Everything that was shot tonight was donated by Guild members and local fireworks business owners.

There were probably 50 Guild members in attendance to put the show together. We showed up around noon and we were finally done setting everything up by about 8pm. Every cake was launched using a Cobra 18E firing system and e-match on every cake.

The finale was provided by a different company (whose name escapes me at the moment!). They arrived with two flatbed trailers loaded up with 3" and 4" mortars tubes. The owner and his crew were phenomenal!! They gave me some training on the spot and let me fuse a few strings of shells with fast-fuse and e-match. Not sure how many tubes we loaded, but I believe the figure I heard was around 300. They all went up in about 30 seconds!!

It was an amazing show and the kids (and adults!) all had a great time.

I hope you all enjoy the video and hit the "like" button! Here's the link!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSVekwqUz5o

Here are some pictures of the setup:

http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1249&stc=1 http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1250&stc=1 http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1251&stc=1 http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1252&stc=1 http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1253&stc=1 http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1254&stc=1


You're a good man Rick. What a great experience for these kids!

[Rick_In_Tampa]

You're a good man Rick. What a great experience for these kids!

Thank you Sir. I wish I could take credit for the shoot, but I was just a small cog donating a little time and sweat for a great cause. I enjoyed doing it probably just as much as the kids enjoyed watching it. ;)